Bruno Lage sack latest: Wolves manager under ‘serious threat’, as Ruben Neves hints at who’s really to blame
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Wolves will hold talks that could result in the sacking of Bruno Lage, and comments from Ruben Neves have hinted at the manager being abandoned by his players.
Wolves slipped to their fourth league defeat of the campaign on Saturday evening. A visit to West Ham did little to lift the gloom, with a 2-0 loss only adding to Wolves’ plight.
The defeat saw them slip into the relegation zone and highlighted concerns over the club’s direction under Bruno Lage. Their tally of wins over their last 15 league matches dating back to last season stands at just one.
Despite concerns over financial fair play, Wolves did back Lage in the summer.
While the likes of Morgan Gibbs-White and Leander Dendoncker were sold, Lage was able to sign Goncalo Guedes and Matheus Nunes, among others.
Saša Kalajdžić arrived from Stuttgart in the hopes of giving the front line added bite. However, the Austria international suffered an ACL injury on hid debut and Wolves’ woes in front of goal show no signs of easing.
Diego Costa made his debut and came close with a headed effort. However, he is 33 and still lacking match sharpness.
Wolves are the league’s lowest scorers with just three goals in eight matches. That is reportedly a contributing factor to Wolves considering a change at the helm.
The Telegraph report Wolves are ‘considering the future’ of Lage and will hold talks over whether to end his reign at 15 months.
Wolves patience runs out
The club’s hierarchy were reportedly content to give Lage more time with the fixture list easing in October. However, the West Ham defeat sounds like it could be a defining moment.
Wolves’ higher-ups reportedly feel Lage should be doing far better with the quality of players he has at his disposal.
Few would argue a team containing the likes of Jose Sa, Ruben Neves, Matheus Nunes and Pedro Neto should be anywhere near the relegation zone.
Speaking after the Hammers loss, Lage was asked if he’s feeling the heat.
“I feel pressure since the first day I came, that’s why I make pressure for everyone,” he said (via the Express and Star).
“To bring the players as soon as possible to adapt to the country and in the new system we are playing.
“Sometimes when you look at the situation with a manager you need to forget it, the question will be whether we have a striker fit to play 90 minutes.
“We need to continue to work hard and find the solutions. This is the momentum. We don’t have strikers and players go to the national team and get injured, like Hwang.
“It looks like everything goes wrong and we need to turn it around with hard work.”
Ruben Neves hints at training issue
Ruben Neves also spoke to the press, and hinted the playing personnel have done Lage no favours.
Neves appeared to take aim at an apparent lack of effort in training from certain players and did his best to take the heat off his under-fire manager.
“We need to stop talking about performances,” said Neves.
“We always try to play our best to win but it is not enough. We need to make sure everyone goes on the same path.
“It is time to look to ourselves. What we are doing in the Premier League is not enough.
“If you don’t train like you play you will not be able to win enough games at the weekend. The good thing is we still have time to change this.
“Everyone, including me, can give a little bit more. We are not in good form so something needs to change.
It is not the manager’s responsibility it is everyone. We are the ones that can get the results. It is about us not anybody else.
“We struggled a bit in the beginning with a lot of new players, a lot of players going out, but no more excuses.”